Fugitive Former NSA Contractor Is Featured on Video Link

MOSCOW—Edward Snowden made his first major public appearance in Russia on Thursday on a call-in show with President Vladimir Putin, who told the fugitive ex-National Security Agency contractor that personal privacy is better protected in Russia than in the U.S.

It was the first time Mr. Snowden has appeared at a Russian government event since receiving political asylum last summer. He became marooned in Russia after the U.S.—which has charged him with espionage for leaking details of highly classified government...